Process of forming box toes for shoes



May 1, 1923. 1,453,526

A. J. RYAN PROCESS OF FORMING BOX TOES FOR SHOES Filed Jan. 15, 1920 A ffoz z 75.

. Patented May 1, 1923;

' TROGESS OF FORMING BOX TOES FOR SHOES.

Application filed January 15, 1920. Serial No. 351,666.

T0 all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. RYAN, a citizenlof the United States, and a resident of the city of Cincinnati, inthe county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. a Process of Forming Box Toes for Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference bein had to the drawings forming a 'part'of this specification.

l y invention relates to processes and the products thereof involved in the formation of stiffened toe pieces for shoes. The nature of the material employed is subject to a wide ran e of selection, but the. customary and preferred material is a felt body impregnated with waxes and gums.

It is the object of my invention to provide a method of forming box toes forshoes-prior to their insertion in the shoe, and to provide by my method a box toe which is superior to any like toes of the past, and possessed of difierent characteristics, among which are a thinner and stiffer body, and cleaner lines around the folded edges. I

One of the essentials of my invention is that I take a box toe piece of the desired material, impregnated with a softened and plastic medium, and by a separate treatment apart from any other portions of the shoe, stretch the material .over a form having special characteristics. I maintain the piece over the form until it has set by hardening or partial hardening and due to the features of the form, and the method of striking up the piece over the form I obtain the advan tageous product noted briefly above, and which will be hereinafter specifically pointed'out and claimed, together with the details ofthe method employed.

In the drawings,

Figures 2, 3 and 4c are views showing the formation of the toe piece into the desired shape, with phantom machine parts, more or less diagrammatically indicated.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of a completed box toe piece. s

Figure 6 is a sectional perspective of the toe of the forming die or toelast which is employed by me.

In the past few years, the method of male,

ing up box toes has chiefly been to insert a plastic toe piece together with the upper on a last, and proceed to last the shoe, while v I i the piece 1s soft, after which the shoe is set aside to permit the toe to harden.

Since the toe piece is formed over the shoe last along with the parts of the'upper and its lining thGIQ/IS no possibility of.

giving any special treatment to the box-toe, piece itself, because any stretching or molding of the piece is limited byithe stretchability or moldability of the upper material. Not only this'but-the operation/of lastin as it is done today, is largely required becauseof the necessityfof working 'the box toe piece into the'required form;

and by the forming up of the said toe piece into the exact desired shapebefore its insertion into the shoe, the operation of lasting is done away with almost entirely.

The elimination of the necessity of treating a plastic piece of material along with the other parts of the-shoe, is

7a also a saving because of the fact that the operator is re lieved of the danger of ruining the exposed portions of the shoe with the chemicals,

' gums, waxes, or the like, which provide the;

plasticity of thepiece; v i 1 According to my invention,therefore, the box toe piece is formed up into the exact shape desired for the completed shoe, prior. to its being incorporated with the balance of the shoe on the last. Notionly this,'but being relieved of the necessity ofoperating' on the upper along with the plastic piece,

I am enabled to stretch or attenuate the piece itself, resulting in a more desirable product both from the point of View of neatness, and of hardness.

I employ in my process, a toe last or former of which the toe portion 1 is shaped in the form of the toeof the shoe last to and which has a U-shaped channel 2 ,directly beneath the edges of the said toe portion, there being enough excess depth to the form to provide a toe which, is slightly greater in depth or altitude than the-toe of which the'completed piece is to be applied, I Figure 1 1S'2L perspectlve view of one. selected form of holder for a box-toe piece.

the ultimate shoe last. i This is because the 1 toe piece when formed must conform to the shoe last toe with an'insole superimposed at its underside-thereof. y

I have shown" as a practical form, of holder for the toe piece. itself, a device" which has two plates 3, 3, hin ed together by spring hinges 4, 4:, the two plates having handles 5, 5. The plates are out out at the lie forward end to form jaws 3 and the box toe blank 6 is inserted between the jaws so that the wide end thereof lies practically flush with the end of the plates, as shown in the dotted line illustration in Figure 1. An additional spring may be placed 'be tween the handles.

The, toe last, or former, being properly retained and balanced so as to receive an even application of the toe piece, l preferably insert the holding device containing a plastic toe piece over the said last,and initially retain the said piece against-the top of the last by a resilient member 7.

I then press down on the holding device around the edges of the jaws, so as to retain the box toe piece firmly against substantial withdrawal, employing, for example, a series of depressible posts 8. l

alsov preferably support the holder on atable 9 w iich is depressihle but only upon the application of considerable force.

By moving the toe piece downwardly over the toe form, while retaining the edges of the piece as'by depressing the posts, I attenuate the body of the plastic piece, and shape it to the toe former, except at the channel which directly underlies it.

To provide for the channel 1 preferably .providea flexible member such as indicated at 10, which, after the piece has been stretched down over the. toe form or last. will come into action to forcethe piece to enter the channel and conform thereto.

Having brought the piece down over theform, and stretched it at the same time, it should be held in such position until it has fully set. By this I do not necessarily mean, completely hardened but that it should be in such condition that it may be removed and set aside, without losing the shape and attenuation, that was imparted to it over the former or last. Preferably, and due to the great economy of so doing, a box toepiece which is impregnated with a hardening compound that hardens very quickly, after being softened, and has a very high heat resistance when hard, will be used in my process. Thus I employ among other things a felt iii'ipregnated with Waxes and gums which will soften in dry heat, hot water, or steam quickly.

As a result of this forn' ing process which,

of course. might be beneficially followed, with the use of other instrumentalities, the completed box toe piece will have an attenuated or stretched body 11, a clean sharp line at the turned under edges 12, and a clearly defined depending flange or shoulder 13. As shown in the drawings, the excess material 14 around the edges of the complete article will naturally be thicker than the balance of the article. The showing is ex aggera'ted to bring out the variance in and will harden verythickness, and the stretching will vary due to the firmness with which theedges are held duringthe action on the' blank.

Any desired form of knife may be used to cut away the excess material, which will preferably be done along the base of the depending flange or shoulder 13, unless, as for McKay shoes, the inwardly extending portion beneath the toe is all that is needed, in which case the cutting is done along the upper edge of the shoulder 13.

in placing the toe into a shoe, the insole, and upper are assembled on the-last in the" usual way, with the box toe inserted be tween the-upper and its lining. The shoulder 13, will then lie along the upturned lip of the insole (for welt shoes) and the inscanner can stitch the upperfand toe,to*the* insole lip, en'iploying the said shoulder'as a body to stitch to, forthe toe piece.

The operation of lasting the shoe, as done at present, will not be required,=as the toe," piece is already in form, and will holdfits shape.

It is not ntended by the failure-to-point out equivalents in the abovematter, or the failure to describe the various kinds 'of Inaterials which are available for'boX toes,--and the nature of the hardeningacompounda -to imply limitations in the 'claims'zthat'follow. llor is it intended that the-scope of my in vention be limited to the "exact 'purpose set forth above, since :I intend it to' be applied wherever the teaching thereof may be made available, now, or in the future.

Having thus described my invention, What- I claim as new and desireto-secure by Let: ters Patent is i. A method of preparing boxtoes 'for shoes which consists inindependently forming a piastic'blank over a forming (116 have mg the shape of the desired toe and an uni deriyi-ng channel with abase and sidewalls, and retaining said blank over said die and in said channel until in a state of fixa tion. 2. A. method of preparing-box toes'fon'" shoes which consists in independently-5' stretched and attenuated relationI unti-l' in l l a state of fixation. I g i 4. A method of forming box toesadaptnd for assembly together with the upper inge,

shoe, which consists in strikingmpl over a former a toe portionconforming to a giyen 130* for" last from a fiat piece of elastic material having hardening properties, the said flat piece having an approximate toe outline, and firmly holding the margins of the piece entirely around the piece, except at the back so as to impart a stretching operation over the former.

5. A method of forming box toes adapted for assembly together with the upper in a shoe, which consists in elastically shaping a fiat piece of material to a member conform-v ing to the toe portion of a given last and holding said piece momentarily in stretched and attenuated conformation to theformer to initially set the components of the material in complete box toe formation.

6. A method of forming box toes adapted for assembly in the lasting of a shoe, which consists in cutting out a toe blank from a flat piece of fabric having elastic and self-hardening components, simultaneously firmly holding the margins of the fiat toe blank entirely around the piece except at the back while elastically distorting said flat piece and shaping it to conform to the contour of the toe portion of a given last,

and holding the stretched material momentarily to initially set the components of the material in complete box toe formation in a single operation.

7. A method of forming box toes adapted for assembly in the lasting of a shoe, which consists in firmly holding the margins of a flat toe blank of a fabric having elastic and cold-hardening components entirely around the piece except at the back and while said blank is in a heated condition shaping it under pressure to a die member conforming in size and contour to the toe portion of a given last, and drawing in a marginal por tion of the blank below the toe so as to form an offset shoulder adapted for attachment to the lip of an insole.

8. A method of forming a box toe adapted for assembly in the lasting of a shoe which consists in firmly holding the margins of a flat toe blank of a fabric having elastic and cold-hardening components entirely around the piece except at the back and while said blankis in a heated condition shaping it under pressure to a die member conforming in size and contour to the said toe portion of a given last, andholding the stretched material'momentarily to initially set the components of the material in complete box toe formation.

9. As a new article of manufacture, adapted for assembly together with the up per in a shoe, a box toe pre-formed on a die corresponding to the toe portion of a given last, from an elastic, self-hardening material, and characterized by the fixation of the material in a condition of stretched and attenuated conformationto the die.

'10. A box toe adapted for assembly together with the upper in a shoe and consist ing of a shell-like structure of felt material, the components of which are set in an independently stretched and attenuated state of conformity to the toe of a given last.

11. A box toe adapted for assembly together with the upper in a shoe, formed of an independently stretched, attenuated and fixed felt material, having a member for attachment to the lip of the insole.

12. A box toe for assembly together with the upper in a shoe, formed from a flat elastic material independently stretched and ati tenuated to a pre-determined toe contour, the components of which are in a condition of substantial fixation.

13. The method of forming a box toe,

which consists in uniformly holding the,

margins of a fiat blank of appropriate outline formed of an elastic and cold-harden ing material adapted to stitching, striking up a toe form from a medial portion of the gripped blank, and holding the form momentarily in stretched and attenuated condition for hardening. 4

14. A box toe for assembly, together with the upper of a shoe, consisting of a crisp tenuous elasticmaterial, having the desired toe form and dimensions, and a base margin suitable for stitching, said box toe being characterized by a structural attenuation of the material incident to striking up. the toe form from a flat blank.

I ALBERT J. RYAN. 

